Hicks: Jobs Report Not Enough to Lead to Rate Cuts

Hicks is the director of Ball State's Center for Business and Economic Research.

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A Ball State University economist says the new jobs report confirms the Federal Reserve’s decision to end rate hikes. Michael Hicks, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the university, says however, the addition of 75,000 jobs last month is not weak enough to lead to rate cuts.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the new jobs numbers today. The amount of new jobs was below the 180,000 that had been forecasted by economics. Hicks says there had been speculation that if the economy slows, the Federal Reserve could cut rates.

"The May jobs report will add to worries that the domestic economy is slowing," Hicks said. "With only 75,000 new jobs in May, this is a major slowdown from 2017, 2018 and the first four months of 2019."

The national unemployment rate remained steady at 3.6 percent in May. The Indiana unemployment rate is slated to be released June 21.